


All I Want Is You

by Hermioneshandbag (Obscurilicious)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 00:05:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16691527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obscurilicious/pseuds/Hermioneshandbag
Summary: Sirius falls for a Muggle while on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War.





	1. Chapter 1

Sirius was tired. This war was making old men of all of the Marauders, but Sirius deliberately took on the most dangerous missions. He didn’t know if he was more or less valued by the Order for it, but he knew that to him, his life mattered the least. So, yes, he would continue to take on the most dangerous missions, because then James and Peter at least wouldn’t. Remus he didn’t know about. He was secretive and moody all the time, gone for weeks on end. Sirius didn’t want to believe it about the young man he had always considered a brother, but he worried that he had gone over to the other side.

Just now, Sirius was in yet another small Muggle village, looking for pockets of Voldemort’s followers, tasked with finding them, spying on them, capturing them if possible, eliminating them if necessary. It was dangerous and not glamorous as he had thought it would be when he joined the Order. Mostly it was just lonely. He missed his friends, and he rarely saw James, Lily and Harry. They were the only family he had.

Yet, he wanted more, someday. A deep, light place inside him hoped that he could rise above his upbringing.

Lonely and bored but unable to sleep, Sirius grabbed his jacket and decided to venture to the only night spot in town, The Green Frog. It was a pub that served lunch and dinner, then had music and dancing after dinner hours. They were guaranteed all the business in town because they were the only place open after 7pm.

So Sirius went in and grabbed an empty stool, ordered a beer and turned to sit with his back to the bar, leaning back a bit, the picture of cool aloofness with a touch of elegance. He always got looks, and he always got laid when he tried, though he didn’t try as often as he once had.

Tonight he wasn’t planning to try. He didn’t feel that kind of lonely. He just wanted to see other people, to see the people he was working to save. He knew that he would never know any of them, not really. But sometimes the loneliness made him feel the need to put faces to the endless missions; he needed to remember that there was more than just a fight – there was a cause.

As he sipped his beer and looked through the faces, his eyes went past and then came back to one in particular.

_Looking out my window, an angel enrobed_

_Appeared and nearly tore me apart_

* * *

You were there with friends for a birthday gathering, but you weren’t much in the mood to celebrate. You hadn’t been in the mood since your fiance had left you for another woman.

It had been over a year and your friends had been supportive in the beginning, but most of them had drifted away as you hadn’t just “moved on.” Honestly, part of you wanted to move on, but the bigger part was afraid to ever trust any man again. You understood the logic that said that you could never be happy if you never took a chance, but you couldn’t get hurt if you didn’t take chances, either.

So you were the one who sat at the table and watched purses while everyone else went and danced. They were on the prowl, after all. You weren’t. What was the point of prowling when you knew all of the available “prey?” Every guy out there was either at school with you or one of your siblings. You knew them. They weren’t going to be the ones to make you take a chance.

* * *

Sirius watched you a while longer, sipping his beer and imagining why a beautiful bird like you would be alone. The other girls you were out with were pretty enough, he supposed, but you were objectively a rare beauty. Sirius was a connoisseur, after all.

How were you alone? Why were you so sad?

Then the rest of the girls at the table jumped up to go to the dance floor. Abba had that effect on people, he supposed. You had simply nodded at them when they asked if you were sure you didn’t mind, a smile pasted on your face that didn’t reach your eyes.

* * *

You told yourself that you had done your co-workerly duty and you would leave as soon as someone came back to the table. You were rarely in the mood to go out drinking, and tonight was no exception. What was the point? You watched your friends as they went through the ridiculous motions of trying to land a man. You felt detached, like you were writing an article for National Geographic. The female of the species, unlike every other member of the animal kingdom, decorates herself and moves about in what they hope the male of the species finds to be an alluring dance in this never-ending mating ritual.

You snickered a bit at your internal joke, then wondered if that was a sign that perhaps you spent a bit too much time alone and in your head. Blimey, maybe your friends were right? Maybe it was time to return to the world.

* * *

Sirius was watching you as much as he could without looking like a complete creep. He had seen the sadness, irritation and and loneliness flash brief across your features as you watched your friends dance, but then there was a flash of a smile that disappeared again quickly.

But, Merlin, in those seconds that smile had lit up your already beautiful features into absolutely the most gorgeous face he had ever seen.

He wanted to talk to you. But he had to leave town. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you to start something that you couldn’t follow through with…

_A million miles of freedom, a million miles of road  
But I still don’t know where to start_

* * *

Sirius shook his head and turned back to the bar. Yet his eyes returned to you over and over, finding your face in the mirror behind the bottles lined up within easy reach of the bartender, just waiting to help Sirius forget.

In one of the times he caught himself looking, he saw you smile and shake your head no politely. Sirius turned around to see what was happening and was halfway across the room before it even registered in his head what he was doing.

* * *

“I said, no thank you, George. I need to be going home soon.”

“C’mon, Y/N, you’ve said no to all the lads. People are goin’ t’start thinkin’ you like birds instead of blokes!” the unpleasant fellow said loudly.

You were irritated. George had been a nuisance since primary school. This wasn’t the first time he had suggested you didn’t like men simply because you didn’t like him.

“The lady doesn’t seem to be interested,” came a voice that was loud enough to be heard but low enough to be all business.

“Piss off, mate. This don’t concern you,” George growled, turning his bulk toward the voice.

Sirius was a bit shorter and a lot lighter than George. He wasn’t intimidated, though. He had known plenty of halfwits like this one who might have been solid at school, but now he had gone to fat. His once muscular chest now resided around his waist, hanging over his belt.

Sirius had met men like this in his travels quite often, unfortunately. In the smaller villages like this one, everyone knew everyone and a stranger was marked immediately. Sirius was handsome, girls looked at him, he slept with them occasionally. This did not endear him to the local males, ergo he’d had to prove his ‘manhood’ more than once, and without magic.

Yet he had also been in battles with Death Eaters, and the stakes in those fights were too high to let male posturing take him out of the fight. Needless to say, George didn’t intimidate Sirius. He had seen so much worse that the Georges of the world didn’t even give Sirius pause.

You looked at the new guy. You had noticed him, of course, he was the epitome of male beauty. Beyond that, however, you were actually attracted to him. That simply had not happened since Trevor had left you. It was… exhilarating.

And terrifying.

“George, I promised to dance with him if this song came on,” you lied to defuse the situation. It certainly wasn’t because you wanted to dance with him.

Sirius looked at you with surprise but held out his hand, not looking a gift horse in the mouth. “Milady.”

You took his hand and let him guide you to the dance floor, your friends’ looking shocked as you began to sway to “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.

“Thank you for the dance,” Sirius said quietly, leaning close to your ear, his warm breath tickling your neck.

You leaned back a bit to put some distance between you. “I was just trying to avoid trouble between you and George.”

“Still. I noticed you earlier and wanted to talk to you but you’re a bit intimidating,” he said with a smile.

You blushed a bit and looked down. “Pshaw, intimidating my arse.”

Sirius shrugged. “You’re the prettiest girl here. I saw you turn down half the blokes in the place and the rest just couldn’t get up the gumption to ask you. I didn’t think I’d fare any better.”

“I didn’t come to dance or find someone to go home with. My coworkers guilted me into coming or I’d be at home watching telly,” you said with a small smile.

Sirius quoted one of Lily’s Mum’s favorite movies, Casablanca, and said, “My lucky night then. ‘Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, eh?’”

You smiled at the reference. “You’re a Bogart fan, then?”

Sirius shook his head a bit and said, “One of my mate’s Mum loves that movie, so I’ve seen it a few times.”

“So, are you new in town?” you asked.

“Just passing through,” he said quietly, almost seeming regretful.

“Ah, I see. Well, like I said, I wasn’t looking for someone to go home with, so you should probably ask one of my work mates to dance.”

“We can at least finish the dance, though, can’t we? I was about to sing to you,” he said with a wink.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Did you expect that shite to work?” you asked in an incredulous voice.

Sirius leaned forward and sang, “My darling, you were wonderful tonight.”

You laughed and he joined you. “Aye I’ll give you that. There are at least three lasses at my table that would have her tongue down your throat by now. Want me to point you at them?”

He laughed and shook his head at you. “No, I’d like to know your name, though. Mine is Sirius, by the way.”

“Sirius. Like the star?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile.

“My name is Y/N, but you’re really not getting into my knickers, Sirius,” you said quietly.

“Well, Wonderful Y/N, I wasn’t looking for a shag tonight.”

“Oh, really?” you asked skeptically. “What were you looking for then?”

Sirius looked down. “I’ve been traveling for a  while, and I guess I’m lonely.”

“In my experience, when a man says he’s lonely, he’s usually looking for a shag.”

He had no idea why he was about to bare his soul to you, but he looked into your eyes and replied, “No. I’m not looking for a shag. I’m looking for more.”

“More what?” you whispered.

“I don’t know, but when I saw you earlier, I thought that you might be able to help me find it,” he whispered back.

You stared into his pale eyes for a moment before you realized that you had stopped dancing, there was a faster song on and your friends were hooting at you from the table. “I have to get home,” you said, pulling away from Sirius.

“Can we just…talk? For a little bit?” he asked, almost desperately.

You considered him for a moment and then nodded and took his hand, leading him to an empty table by way of your friends’ table where you grabbed your purse.

Sirius went up to the bar and got drinks for you both, returning to sit down across from you.

You talked for hours. You had been ready to leave when he asked you to dance at about 9:30 – you looked up when the bartender announced last call and looked around to see that your co-workers had gone and there were only a few regulars clinging to their barstools.

_“Daddy, daddy, daddy, all my life_  
I’ve been trying to find my place in this world”  
I said to her, “Baby, baby, baby, I’ve got all night  
To listen to the heart of a girl”

“I really need to go home now,” you said.

“Can I call you? If I…if I come back this way?”

“I dunno. You deftly managed to avoid answering my questions whenever I asked why you were here. For all I know you have a wife or two and a dozen kids,” you speculated.

He paused a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I suppose I am an undercover agent of sorts. There’s a very bad guy that the organization I work for is trying to find. I travel around and look for people who work for him.”

“What a load of shite!” you exclaimed. “Am I meant to believe you’re Black, Sirius Black? Are you on Her Majesty’s Secret Service, then?”

“Not exactly,” he said with a half smile. “Look, I really can’t tell you anymore. But, I promise, I’m not married, never have been, no kids.”

You looked at him for a moment and swore you saw sincerity in his eyes. “I almost believe you.”

“I swear it’s true.”

You pulled a pen from your handbag and wrote your number on a cocktail napkin and handed it to him, figuring you’d never hear from him again.

Which you were quite surprised to find actually made you a bit sad.

_She wrote her number down_  
And she gave it to me  
They had to scrape me off the floor 


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius had actually planned to leave town the next day, but it was a Saturday and he knew traffic would be miserable. At least that was the excuse he gave his conscience.

He had picked up the phone in his room in the inn at least a dozen times by 10 o’clock. He didn’t even need to look at the napkin with your phone number, he had memorized it by the time he had fallen asleep looking at it the night before.

Finally he took a deep breath and dialed your number, hearing the ring ring that made his heart speed up. He was just about to hang up when you picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Sirius said, and fuck him sideways if his voice didn’t crack like a bloody teenager. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Hello, may I please speak to Y/N?”

“Speaking,” you replied.

“Hi. Um it’s Sirius. From last night.”

You snickered. “As opposed to the Sirius from the other day or last month.”

“Ha yeah I reckon you don’t meet too many blokes with my name.”

“Yes, you are unique.”

“You mean my name?”

“No, I mean you,” you said with a smile.

“Can I see you today?” Sirius asked hopefully, pacing the drab inn room with the phone base in one hand while the other held the receiver until he ran out of cord or room.

“I thought you were leaving this morning,” you said after a pause.

“I decided to wait until tomorrow.”

The pause this time was so long that Sirius was worried you had hung up on him. “Yeah, alright. Know where Marnie’s is?”

“Yes!” Sirius replied far too emphatically, then cringed at what a shitwit he must seem.

“See you there at noon?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then,” he said in a more appropriate tone of voice.

“Bye then.”

“G’bye.”

* * *

You hung up the phone, already regretting your impulsive acceptance of Sirius’ invitation. You didn’t know how to get in touch with him, though, so you had no choice but to go.

Right?

You hadn’t been even remotely attracted to another guy since Trevor left you. Why on Earth would you pick a complete stranger to allow yourself to…feel?

You shook your head. You’d have lunch with him, then you’d never see him again. You’d even get separate checks so it would be clear that it wasn’t a date.

But you still needed to decide what to wear. You’d pick a nice outfit to have lunch with your Gran, though. You were absolutely not going out of your way for this man.

He was really fit, though.

Ugh, Y/N, he’s just a man. Go to lunch and forget him, you lectured yourself.

Still…you had that new dress that you got a while back. You had been looking for a reason to wear it. This was as good as any. Absolutely not going to make a big deal out of it.

* * *

Sirius got to the cafe 20 minutes early. He got a table and had tea while he waited. He probably didn’t need the caffeine as he was already nervous and jittery, but he needed to do something with his hands.

And speaking of hands, should he shake yours or hug you? Give you a kiss on the cheek? Definitely not on the lips, right?

Merlin, he hadn’t been on a proper date in ages. And really, for all he knew this wasn’t a proper date anyway and he was just going to embarrass himself with his infatuation.

Luckily you arrived soon after. That was a good sign, right?

He hopped up, nearly tripping over his own feet, then went over to gauge the greeting. You looked nervous, too, so he thought maybe a quick hug would work. He hoped.

* * *

You stepped into the hug and all the feelings from the previous night came rushing back. God, he smelled good, and he was just tall enough to make you feel cherished in his arms, not like you lived in Munchkinland. Shit, the hug was going on too long. You were going to make him think you were weird.

* * *

Merlin, you smelled good. Not like you were wearing a ton of perfume, but just clean and fresh. You were hugging him and holding you made him feel like he was home and Godric he wanted to kiss you. Had he been holding you too long? He’d been holding you too long. You were going to think he was a perv.

* * *

You pulled away awkwardly, feeling your cheeks heat. Then you darted your eyes up to Sirius’ face and noticed that his pale cheeks were a bit rosy. “Hi,” you said, a bit embarrassed.

“Hello,” he replied with a big smile.

“Hi,” you said again, then cringed.

Sirius’ smile softened and he turned to pull your chair out for you, then sit down next to you.

“I was surprised when you called,” you said quietly.

“Why’s that?” he said, knowing he was staring and probably had a silly expression on his face, but he felt like he had been waiting months to see you again.

“Um well, you said you were leaving town. And also, you don’t seem the type to need to work for it.”

“It?” he asked.

“Feminine attention,” you stated succinctly.

“Oh!” he replied, surprised at your directness. “I suppose I haven’t had to, really. But since I started this…job…I haven’t really dated.”

“What’s so special about me, then?”

Sirius smiled. “Not sure yet. Just know that you are and I need to find out why.”

You scoffed at that. “Honestly, Sirius, there’s nothing special about me at all. About 90% of me thinks that this is all an elaborate scheme to get in m’knickers.”

Sirius smiled. “What’s the other 10% saying,” he said, reaching for your hand.

You felt that connection with him again when your hands meet on the tabletop. “It’s telling me to grab you with both hands and kiss the daylights out of you,” you whispered.

“I like that 10%.”

You smiled at him as the waitress came to your table. You hadn’t had breakfast and you were ravenous. You ordered a cheese and bacon burger with chips and a chocolate milkshake. Sirius said that sounded perfect and he’d have the same.

“So, tell me all about Sirius Black. Where d’ya come from, who are your people?” you asked after you had ordered your food.

Sirius drew a blank. He had no clue what to say; he had never had a conversation while on assignment, at least not with a woman with whom he had felt even remotely compelled to see again.

He wanted to see you again.

“I’m from London, I grew up with my parents and a younger brother but we don’t…we don’t talk,” he finished awkwardly.

You reached across the table to clasp his hand, sensing the pain behind his words. “I’m sorry, Sirius, I didn’t know.”

Sirius looked into your eyes and saw kindness, not pity. “Of course you didn’t, love,” he said quietly, smiling softly. “You’re getting the truth, though, as much of it as I can give you.”

You looked uncertain for a moment. “Promise?”

Sirius could tell that you had been hurt: that much had been obvious last night. He knew that his response to that simple one-word question would make or break your fledgling relationship. He didn’t answer lightly. Looking into your eyes, he placed his other hand over yours that was still holding his and said, “I promise you, Y/N, I may not be able to tell you everything, but everything I tell you will be true.”

You regarded Sirius for a long moment. His eyes held nothing but sincerity, his words rang true. “I reckon that’s a good start,” you answered with a smile.

Sirius exhaled the breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Thank _you_ ,” you replied.

* * *

You had a lovely lunch and then went for a walk. After a bit, Sirius bumped his hand into yours a few times but you pulled away. You were having too intense of feelings for this man already without the reminder of the sparks that flowed between you when you touched.

Later, though, you were more relaxed and slipped your hand into his without thought, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Sirius’ heart skipped a beat and he turned to look at you, smiling at your sign of affection. You hadn’t noticed that you took his hand and looked a bit frightened when you realized.

“As slow as you want, Y/N. Promise,” he said quietly, squeezing your hand and then letting his hand relax, allowing you to decide if you wanted to continue the contact.

You squeezed his hand back a bit and continued to hold it, prompting a smile before he tightened his hold gently.

* * *

You spent the whole day together, inviting him to your flat as long as he understood that there was to be “no funny business!”

You led him to your tiny one bedroom flat that was the servants quarters of a decently sized Manor that had been renovated for several units. You had a private entrance with parking round the back of your place and an indoor staircase that led to your door.

The interior was plain, as befitting the hidden parts of a manor house, with no fancy woodwork or stained glass windows. Still, it was cozy and safe and you loved being independent. Your furnishings were a bit shabby and worn but it was yours. You had added the occasional touch of whimsy here and there to make it feel like home.

Sirius picked up a picture and looked at a younger you and a couple that must be your parents. Muggle photographs still surprised him when they didn’t move. But the family looked happy.

“These your parents?” he asked while you hung up your jacket and his.

“Yes. That was taken before me Da got sick. He passed a couple years after that.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Sirius whispered, sensing the pain in your words.

“I miss him,” you said with a sad smile. “I’m an only child and they spoiled me a bit. Da was great.”

“Without sounding like a twat, I envy you the memory of a good father. Mine is alive and – well, let’s just say I’m dead to him.”

Sirius felt your hand slip into his, comforting him. He smiled down at you, liking that you didn’t spout platitudes or try and get him to give details.

You had grabbed takeaway and ate on your sofa, facing each other and talking the evening away. Sirius told you everything he could about his life and friends and family and schooling – surprisingly a lot, even leaving the very important detail of magic out of things.

You told him about your life, as well. Family, friends, school, work and all. You even told him about Trevor, which shocked your inner skeptic. How did you trust him enough already to tell him about the man who broke your heart and publicly humiliated you?

When you were both so exhausted you could barely keep your eyes open, Sirius yawned and stretched. “I suppose I should head back to my room and get some rest,” he said reluctantly.

You glanced at a clock and then looked back at Sirius in surprise. “How did we talk all night again? It’s almost 3 am!”

Sirius laughed. “I could talk to you forever,” he said.

“I imagine we’ll run out of things to talk about eventually,” you said practically. “Then you’ll see that I don’t do more than talk and be off to find someone more interesting.”

Sirius’ smile faltered a bit. “I know that he hurt you,” he began quietly, not even wanting to utter the other man’s name out of an unreasonable jealousy, “but I’m willing to wait as long as you need to trust me.”

“As long as it’s before tomorrow, hmm?” you asked skeptically.

“I have to leave tomorrow, yes,” he began, “but I will be back, if you’ll have me.”

You smiled, not really believing him. “We’ll just take it one visit at a time, yeah?”

_You say you’ll give me a highway with no one on it_  
A treasure just to look upon it   
All the riches in the night


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius really did have to leave the next morning. He asked you to meet him for breakfast before he left and you agreed. You had offered to let him sleep on your sofa, but he knew that in a small village like yours, taking him home even for an evening could cause gossip. If he slept there you’d be the talk of the town.

You had breakfast and were both a bit mopey.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” he said, reaching across the table to hold your hand. “And I’ll call.”

“Course you will,” you said, neither convinced nor convincing.

Sirius paid your bill and you walked him to where he had parked his motorcycle.

“It was lovely meeting you, Sirius Black,” you said a bit sadly.

“You say that like you’re never gonna see me again,” he said chidingly.

“That is rather the assumption I’m working under, Sirius,” you replied quietly. “I’m a realist.”

Sirius shook his head. “You’ll see, Y/N. I will be back.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it, Mr. Black, and not a moment sooner,” you said crisply.

“How about this: I will bet you a kiss that I will be back, Y/N,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“You come back and I kiss you, hmm?” you said, amused at his impertinence.

“That’s my plan, yes.”

“Well, then, I think we have a wager, Mr. Black,” you agreed as you held out your hand and shook his. “I do feel obligated to tell you one thing before you go, however.”

“What’s that?” he asked, satisfied grin still adorning his handsome face.

“I was planning to kiss you goodbye today. I’m a bit vexed that I have to wait until I see you again.” You laughed as Sirius’ smile turned into a disappointed frown. “Here, how about a compromise?” you suggested as you went into his arms for a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

He held you for a moment before he pulled back a bit to look into your eyes. He didn’t pull out of the hug, though, not quite ready to relinquish his hold. “So what you’re saying is that if I hadn’t been a knob and told you that I wanted a kiss when I came ‘round next time, I would have gotten a proper kiss now?”

“The general theme here is 'don’t be a knob,’ yes,” you said with a mischievous glint in your eye.

“Lesson learned,” he replied with  a grin. “I’ll call you soon. I’m going to be in London for a few days but then I will try my best to come back this way.”

“Safe travels, Sirius,” you said, not commenting on his promises.

Sirius smiled a bit sadly, placing a hand on your cheek. “I  _will_  see you soon.” With that he got on his bike and started the engine.

As he began to push the bike away from the curb, you put a hand on his shoulder and leaned toward him, brushing your lips lightly across his. “Be careful.”

Sirius’ smile outshined the sun. “I will be. Talk soon.”

You nodded and he drove off.

_You say you’ll give me_  
Eyes in a moon of blindness  
A river in a time of dryness  
A harbor in the tempest

* * *

You walked home, going over all the time you spent with Sirius. He was handsome, smart, funny, mysterious – in short, Sirius Black was bloody amazing and you had no clue why he seemed so intent upon romancing you.

Oh, who were you kidding? You’d probably never hear from him again. He’d just be a pleasant memory when you were old and grey and talking to your dozens of cats as you spent your pension on tins of food for them and going hungry until you died alone.

Blimey, that was dark even for me, you thought.

Still, life goes on and you had to do the washing and get ready for the work week. You made your way home to brew a cuppa and get to work.


	4. Chapter 4

You went about your business: work, home, bit of telly and off to bed to do it over the next day. You took a fair amount of ribbing from your work mates about Sirius but you managed to say next to nothing on the topic.

You had been home for a bit and were making your dinner. Really, you were reheating your food as you generally cooked enough for a few days and ate leftovers. You had made a lamb stew and were about to plop down to eat when the phone rang.

“Ugh, perfect timing, Mum,” you grumbled as you went and picked up the phone. “Hello,” you answered politely. Your mum was a right stickler for phone courtesy.

“Hi!” you heard a deep voice on the other end reply. “How are you, love?”

“Oh, goodness, Sirius!”

He chuckled a bit. “You really didn’t think I’d call, did you? I’ve a mind to be insulted,” he joked.

“I didn’t, actually,” you admitted. “Does it make it any better if I confess to being thrilled to be wrong?”

“It does soothe the sting a bit, yes,” he said, and you could hear the warm smile in his voice.

“Where are you? Still in London, then?”

“Yeah. Meetings and such. Sorry I didn’t call sooner. No phone where we meet and by the time I got away I thought it would be too late.”

“No phone? Blimey, didn’t think such a place existed. Are you at home?”

“Ah, no actually. I don’t have a home currently, I suppose. I’ve been traveling so much that I let my apartment go and stay with friends when I’m in town.”

“That must be hectic.”

“It is. Sorry that we won’t be able to talk longer.”

“That’s alright, Sirius. I’m just happy to hear from you.”

“Thought about you a lot, love,” he said quietly.

“Me, too,” you agreed.

“I hope to be back your way next week. I’ll know more in a few days.”

“I’ll be glad to see you.”

“Really?”

“Are you fishing for compliments, Mr. Black?” you asked with a laugh.

“Possibly. You’re difficult to read in person, on the phone is proving a challenge.”

“Do you like a challenge, Sirius?” you asked in a bit of a flirty tone.

“I must say, I usually don’t. But you are so very worth it.”

“You’ll have me giggling like a schoolgirl.”

“Well that I want to see in person,” he laughed. “Bugger, I need to go. Talk to you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thanks for ringing, handsome,” you said shyly.

“Handsome! I thank you, beautiful,” he responded happily. “G’bye.”

“Bye.”

* * *

Sirius wasn’t able to come the next week but promised he’d be there the week after if it killed him. He rang you every day. Sometimes he barely had time to tell you he missed you and others he fed the phone coins to talk longer.

You tried not to like him, truly. Every time he called you swore you were going to tell him that it wasn’t going to work, and every time you chatted away and didn’t do it. When your phone rang, your heart beat faster; if it wasn’t Sirius, it was a huge disappointment.

The following Saturday, your phone was ringing when you unlocked your door, arms laden with groceries. You hurried over to the phone, dropping your bags on the sofa and picked up anxiously, saying a quick, breathless, “Hello? I’m here!”

“Hello, darling.”

Not the voice you wanted to hear. “Oh, hello Mum,” you replied, trying to keep the disappointment from your voice.

“And who were you expecting to hear from that your dear old mum is a let down, hmm?” she asked shrewdly.

“What?” you said, completely unconvincingly.

“What’s his name, then? Can’t say I’m not surprised, but it’s high time you put aside what that bastard did to you.”

“Mum, there’s… it’s nothing, I’ve only just met… it’s probably nothing,” you finished, knowing you were about to be interrogated.

Your mother chuckled. “You’re not fooling me in the least, m’dear. I carried you in my body and changed your nappies, I know you.”

You sighed. “I met him last week round the pub,” you confessed, knowing a lost cause when you saw one. “But it really isn’t a big thing. He’s from out of town and I don’t even know when or if I’ll see him again.”

“Oh, from what I heard about you two making eyes at each other all weekend, he’ll be back.”

“Mum! You knew?”

“What d’ya expect, hmm? It’s a small town and I know everyone in it. I’ve had more visits than I know what to do with these past few days.”

“Ugh I hate living here.”

“It is not the place to be if you want to keep secrets from your mum, I’ll grant you.”

Since she didn’t sound angry, you skipped the apology and went straight to details. “Right. Well, he’s from London, has a bad relationship with his family, is an undercover detective of some sort and doesn’t tell me much about his work. He says he’s never been married and doesn’t have any kids,” you reported.

“He says?”

“Mum, you know men can’t be trusted!”

“Oh, my love, some men can be trusted. You just had the misfortune to fall for one that couldn’t.”

“So who says I won’t again?” you asked in a small voice. “How do I know he won’t hurt me?”

“You don’t. It’s not something that you can protect against, either. Take your time and learn him, let him learn you. If he’s right for you, things will work out.”

“And if he’s not?”

“Then you come tell your mummy and I’ll kick his arse right ‘round the world.”

You giggled. “Love you, Mummy,” you joked. “Need to put my groceries away.”

“Love you, too, my darling. Come visit your old mummy one of these days.”

“Blimey, you act like you’re in a care home! I just saw you the other day.”

“You’re my only child, I get to send you on guilt trips,” she said with a laugh.

“Alright. Lunch tomorrow?”

“Splendid. See ya then.”

“Cheers!”

You went about putting away your groceries, hoping to hear the phone ring again and then chastising yourself for wanting to hear the phone ring again.

Really, what were you basing this tremendous crush on? A few hours conversation and a single quick kiss. Barely a kiss. Not even a kiss, really, more of a peck.

You had yourself more or less talked out of your crush by the time you had your groceries away and started a roast for dinner. It was simply a passing fancy. He could probably show up at your door right now and you wouldn’t feel a thing.

Nodding to yourself, you resolved to set aside your little infatuation and get your head out of the clouds. He’d been calling every day so you expected the phone to ring any moment now, and you would tell him that he was a wonderful bloke but you couldn’t see him or talk to him anymore.

You had a bunch of excess energy once you decided to break it – whatever 'it’ was – off with Sirius. A walk in the woods was just the thing. You went and put on some boots for your trek and were off.

While you walked to the woods where you’d spent hours on end when you were a child, you pondered the wisdom of ending things with Sirius. He really was everything a girl could ask for in a man; handsome, smart, funny, sweet, so charming. It was truly unfair how beautiful he was – probably prettier than you, really. Slap a dress and some lipstick on him and he could win a beauty pageant.

Even if he was the most handsome man in the world, though, he couldn’t change the fact that he either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell you everything about himself and you were broken beyond repair by the dishonesty and philandering of another man. It was a recipe for heartbreak and you decided that you didn’t want to sample that particular dish again.

* * *

You felt so much better after you worked off some energy. You were going to go and have a hot bath and park in front of the telly with some ice cream. Stereotypical breakup activity. Except you hadn’t broken up yet. But you planned to so it counted. More than planned to, you had resolved to end it with Sirius.

You walked up the steps to your flat, starting at the tops of your boots as you considered what to say to Sirius when he called. You were sorry if you had led him to believe that you could have more than why was there a pair of boots in front of your door?

You looked up quickly to see Sirius leaning against your door. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he had neither slept nor shaved in a few days, but he was grinning at you and you threw yourself into his arms.

“Have you been waiting long? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” you squeaked excitedly, completely forgetting your resolution to end things with him.

“Been here a bit, but small price to pay for this welcome, yeah?”

You laughed and hugged him again. “Come in! I’ve a roast on for dinner. Can you stay?”

“I’m all yours until Tuesday,” he said happily as he followed you into your flat.

“Blimey, how’d you swing that?”

“Told 'em the most beautiful girl in the world was gonna kiss me if I visited her. They saw the urgency of the situation.”

“I gave you a kiss before you left, now you want another? Gracious, you’re a greedy one, aren’t you?” you said as you hung up your jacket, tossing a cheeky wink over your shoulder.

Sirius threw his head back and laughed, a glorious bark of joy that made you happy to hear it. You were helpless but to join in the laughter.

When your laughter subsided, you walked over to him and put your hands on his chest, then slid them up to link around his neck. Sirius inhaled sharply in surprise, then rested his hands on your hips, not pulling you closer but certainly not pushing you away. “A deal’s a deal, I reckon,” you whispered as you tilted your head and stood on tiptoes to kiss Sirius.

The kiss started out sweet, a gentle ‘hello.’ Then it moved into more of an ‘I missed you,’ followed swiftly by an 'oh my God this feels marvelous.’ As you broke apart for air, Sirius’ pale eyes had gone dark with desire, yet he made no move to continue the kiss. You went from a skittish fawn to a wolf on the prowl in the blink of an eye and Sirius didn’t know you well enough yet to divine which you were moment to moment, so he just let you take the lead.

Your eyes fluttered open while you were still panting a bit. “Bloody hell,” you whispered in awe. “I’ve never felt anything like that in my life.”

“That makes two of us,” Sirius replied as he slipped his arms around your waist to hug you gently.

And just that fast, you changed from the pliant woman who had just kissed him breathless to the stiff lady who wanted to keep him at a distance. You gave him a rather embarrassed smile as you stepped out of the circle of his arms and away from his touch.

“Need to finish dinner,” you said briskly, then turned and went into your small kitchen.

Sirius shook his head and followed you, simply happy to be near the whirlwind you were.

* * *

You spent every moment together while he was in town, begging off lunch with your mum and calling your boss at home to request the day off of work on Monday. You warned him when you hung up with your mother that if he visited again she wanted to meet him.

He simply smiled and said, “When, not if. I’ll look forward to meeting her.”

Sirius was completely respectful, even to the point of being the one to pull back when your kisses grew so heated at one point that you lost track of the Doctor Who episode you had been watching, which was pretty amazing as Sirius had been enthralled. It had been almost as if he had never seen the program before!

He slept on your sofa since the entire town was gossiping already. Why waste money on a room at the inn when everyone assumed you were up to no good anyway? But he made no attempt to get into your bed, kissing you goodnight and going over to the sofa that you had made up for him.

Part of you wanted him to sleep with you, but you didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. You would love to fall asleep in his arms but you were afraid he would take it as an invitation to sex. The sofa was not comfortable, though. It was a hand-me-down from your Gran, and it had seen hard use. When you had offered to let him have your bed since he was your guest, he had said that he had slept on worse and he would be fine.

On Tuesday morning, you kissed him goodbye, a bit more confident that he would keep his word and you would see him again. But you still maintained the fortress around your heart.

_But all the promises we make_  
From the cradle to the grave  
When all I want is you


	5. Chapter 5

Sirius’ next visit was the weekend after the following, arriving Thursday night and leaving Sunday night. Unlike before, you had to work on Friday and left him to his own devices.

When you came home from work, Sirius met you at the door with a kiss.

“What a welcome!” you exclaimed happily, still in the circle of his arms. “What is that delicious smell?”

“I made you dinner,” he answered proudly. “Did the shopping today ‘n everything.”

“Keep that up and I just might hire you,” you said with a cheeky wink.

“I wasn’t applying for the post of cook, m’dear,” he said, a bit put out, exaggerated frown upon his handsome face.

“What post were you hoping for then?”

“Well,” he said, leaning forward to kiss your neck just below your ear in the spot he knew always made you sigh, “I was thinking about official boyfriend with an eye to promotion later.”

You sighed. “I will definitely alert you should that position come available,” you said with a smile, leaning back to stop him kissing your neck. “But my Mum wants to interview you tomorrow.”

Sirius smiled but was a bit disappointed that you didn’t hire him on the spot, as it were. “I shall do my level best to wow her.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” you said with a genuine smile. “We’re having lunch round her place at noon.”

You stepped out of his arms to hang up your jacket.

“Does she know I’m staying here?” he asked, a bit of worry in his voice.

You laughed. “Love, the entire village knows you’re staying here. She knew I fancied you before I did.”

Sirius smirked and sauntered up to you to pull you back into his embrace. “You fancy me, eh?” He practically oozed smugness.

You rolled your eyes. “Blimey, Black, d’ya have to sound so proud of yourself? I wouldn’t kiss ya if I didn’t fancy you like mad.”

“Then what’s a bloke gotta do to get hired around here?”

“I reckon persistence and patience.”

Sirius kissed your nose and said, “Well, then I reckon that I will be your employee at some point because I am as stubborn and persevering as a man can get.”

You stepped back again, then went and sat down on the sofa, patting the cushion next to you. Sirius came and sat down, turned a bit sideways so that he was facing you.

You were quiet for a moment before you began, eyes on your lap. “Thing is…Mum’s gonna want to know what we’re doing here, y’know?”

Sirius took your hand in his. “What d’you think we’re doing?” he asked quietly, hesitantly.

You still didn’t meet his eyes. “That’s the thing, really. I haven’t a clue.”

“Well,” he began, “I want you. To be with you.”

“But what does 'with me’ mean?”

“Together. A couple.”

“But what does together mean? Is that your way of saying you want sex? Does this mean you want to get married? Do you even believe in marriage? What about your job? Is this your long-term job? Have you thought about if or when you might want kids?”

Sirius gently nudged your chin up so he could look into your eyes. “I don’t know the answers to all of those questions, but let’s talk about it over dinner, alright?”

You sat down and Sirius served you dinner, the table set with flowers, candles and wine. “Sirius, this is lovely, thank you!”

“Of course, darling. I wish I could spend more time with you, so when I can I want to spoil you a bit.”

“Well, it’s wonderful.”

“Now, to my interview questions. I believe your first question was about what I mean by together. I mean that I would like you to be my girlfriend. And of course I want sex. You’re beautiful and I would love to make love to you.”

“What if I say I need a ring on my finger for that?” you asked quietly.

“I’d say that I’ll have to go jewelry shopping at some point then, yeah?” he answered with a smile.

“Really?”

“Really. I never really thought about getting married before because I’ve never had a serious girlfriend before. But yes, I do believe in marriage. My best mate is married and they have a little boy, Harry. I’m his godfather, actually,” he said proudly. “I love that wee monster, so yeah, I reckon I’d like a few of my own someday.”

“Wait, am I the serious girlfriend?” you asked, surprised.

“I’d like you to be, yeah,” he said quietly.

You smiled, pleased so far. “And your job?”

Sirius’ smile ran away from his face. He looked down and then took a sip of his wine, his eyes remaining on the burgundy, and said, “Darling, I absolutely cannot wait until this job is over. In fact, I worry when I come here that I will put you in danger. I’m as careful as I know how to be, but love…my job is dangerous. And I don’t know when it will be over. So, if you don’t want to be with me because I can’t say when it will be normal, I understand completely.”

You reached across the table and grabbed his hand, causing him to meet your eyes again. “I reckon normal is boring. Let’s see what happens, yeah?”

His smile returned, filled with relief and happiness. “Yeah, sounds good.”

_You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold  
You say you want your story to remain untold_

* * *

You settled in to watch telly and cuddle, your guard let down a bit more since he had referred to yours as a serious relationship and his plans to jewelry shop. A man didn’t talk about buying an engagement ring lightly, right?

“You ready for dessert, love?” he asked in a content voice, then shot you a smile and a wink. “Hate to interrupt the top notch snuggling, but I did bake.”

“Goodness, he cooks, he bakes, I await the reveal of your next skill set with bated breath,” you said in an uncharacteristically flirty voice.

Sirius’ eyes darkened a bit and he leaned forward to kiss you, gently yet with some heat. “I’m looking forward to that as well.”

You inhaled slowly, eyes still closed. “Goodness,” you whispered on a shuddering breath. “I wasn’t talking about that, but I’m certainly thinking about it now.”

“I think about it a lot when we’re apart. Not in a pervy way, just thinking about our future together. Having a home, kids, all that,” he said, seeming a bit embarrassed to admit it.

“You really do? Really?” you asked, awe and a bit of fear coloring your voice.

Sirius kissed your forehead and said, “Yeah, I really do. But I’m not rushing anything. I’m willing to wait as long as I need to do to show you that I’m not like him. I want this, us.”

“I do, too,” you said shyly. “Thank you for understanding.”

Sirius smiled, kissed you lightly and then got up and pulled you to your feet. “I baked a cake. Come and have some with me.”

* * *

You collapsed back on the sofa, tummy full of chocolate bliss and wrapped in the arms of bliss personified. “Blimey, this sofa is awful. Did you sleep at all last night?”

Sirius shrugged. “I was right knackered, I could have slept on the roof. 'Sides, I’ve slept on worse.”

“Well,” you began nervously, “if you want, you could, y’know, sleep in my bed. Just sleep!”

“Really?” he asked, looking as happy as a kid in a candy store. “You trust me?”

“Well, really, you had to know I trusted you the moment I invited you in. If you were a villain you could have done me in the day after we met.”

“You felt it, then?” he said, total sincerity in his pewter eyes.

“It?”

Sirius looked down. “From the moment I saw you, I just…felt something. Like a thread connecting me to you,” he whispered, then looked into your eyes sheepishly. “Probably sounds barmy, yeah?”

You reached up to caress his cheek and he leaned into your touch. “Not in the least. It almost felt like…dunno, magic?” you responded with a chuckle. “Now you’ll think I’m the one who’s gone daft.”

Sirius had an uncomfortable moment of guilt, wondering when and how he was going to tell you that magic was, indeed, real. “Ha. Well, if we’re mad, we can be mad together. Fair enough?”

“Sounds perfect,” you replied with a smile, then closed your eyes as Sirius kissed you softly.

* * *

You worried that it would be awkward going to sleep with Sirius, but it was as comfortable as snuggling on the sofa. You curled up with him spooning you and slept like a baby.

Sirius listened to your deep, even breathing and knew you were asleep. He kissed your neck and smiled when you said his name in your sleep.

How had he become so enamored of you in such a short time? At this moment, if his family weren’t in the Order, if there was any way at all…he would leave the magical world behind for you.

But there was no way. James and Lily and Harry and Peter and Remus…those people were his family, Black blood be damned. Someday he would introduce you to them because you were becoming family, too.

Sirius had never been in love. During his time at Hogwarts, he never felt worthy of romantic love. His parents had done such a number on him that he truly believed that he was unlovable. Over the seven years he had been there, though, he had found himself with three mates who defied the ideology he had been raised with. He knew he didn’t agree with the morals he had been raised with, but there were living, breathing examples of why blood purity was wrong.

So his time at school was spent unlearning what he had been raised before he could figure out who he wanted to be as a person. He envied James and Lily finding their future together so young. Oh, he had snogged some birds and even shagged a few at school, but he never found someone he wanted to let in.

And now that he had, he couldn’t.

Sirius was bloody well terrified that when he finally was able to tell you everything, you’d be so angry with him for keeping so much from you that you would tell him to bugger off. He had been worried that something would happen to him and you would never know, but he had spoken to James and written you a letter that James would deliver if he ever couldn’t come back to you. That gave Sirius peace of mind. The last thing he would ever want was for you to think he abandoned you.

* * *

Sirius charmed your Mum, of course. He could probably have the Queen giggling and blushing with a smile. But more than charm, your Mother saw that he truly cared for you. He was smart and kind and funny, helping to clear the dishes from luncheon and politely showing off polished manners. He had definitely been raised to know proper etiquette, possibly among nobility.

When you left, you had orders to come by for dinner whenever Sirius came to town. He seemed genuinely happy to be invited back and you were pleased that he had your Mum’s approval.

* * *

When your time together was done, you held onto each other by his bike. If he hadn’t been the one to hold on the tightest you might have felt silly for how much you wanted him to stay. When he finally pulled away and kissed you one last time, you weren’t the only one whose eyes were damp.

Sirius called almost every day and visited when he could. You tried so hard to keep him out, kept telling yourself that this visit would be the last and you were going to tell him that he shouldn’t come around anymore. But you couldn’t do it. You had allowed him in and though you told yourself it was just an infatuation, you missed him terribly when he was gone.

Sirius had squirmed into your heart and you were very very worried that you were falling in love with him.

* * *

He had charmed your mum, met your friends and come back as often as he could. He told you about his friends and more about his family, but you knew that there was something he held back. You also knew that it wasn’t something he wanted to keep from you, but for some reason he had to do so.

With every visit, you cared for him more, until you knew you had to tell him.


	6. Chapter 6

Sirius was running himself ragged. He was burning the candle at both ends and in the middle. The only real sleep he got was when he was with you, and that was becoming a bit awkward because he had to make certain to wake up first so he didn’t frighten you with his body’s natural reaction to waking up with the woman he loved.

He had admitted to himself that he loved you after Lily had pointed out that he had never bothered with any girl he wasn’t shagging before, let alone wearing himself out for one. He thought things through and realized that the affection, devotion, desire and admiration he felt for you added up to more than fancying you: he loved you.

But because he loved you, he had to keep you away from the world of magic. You would be defenseless as a newborn kitten against a Death Eater, and with so many of them hating him for being a blood traitor as well as in the Order, you would be an instant target as the woman he loved. He had to protect you from that. He couldn’t tell you the truth about magic until it was safe.

And until it was safe, he would continue to work around the clock, sleeping only when necessary until he could be with you again, and then forever. Because now he didn’t need to go to a pub to put faces to the cause: he saw your face every time he closed his eyes and it spurred him on to finish this job so that he could live his life with his beloved Muggle.

_I can see the time dripping down the clock_

_We’ve been trying to hear that ancient refrain_

* * *

For Sirius’ next visit, you made a special dinner and had the worst case of the collywobbles ever. You were going to tell Sirius that you loved him and see if he ran like his arse was aflame.

You were wearing a new dress and had your hair done just so, make-up perfect and nails done. Dinner was ready and the flat sparkled. You felt like a proper little Suzy Homemaker.

When you heard boots stomping hurriedly up the stairs, you flung the door open and threw yourself into Sirius’ arms. It had been three weeks since you had seen him and absence truly did make your heart grow fonder. It apparently had the same effect on Sirius as he held you close for ages, both of you clinging to each other, thankful to be together at last. Sirius pulled back a bit to kiss you as if he had been starving for your touch.

“Missed you so much, darling,” he groaned into your hair when you came up for air.

“Missed you too, love. Thought about you all the time.”

“We are rather in the hallway, though. Do you s’pose we should go inside?” he teased.

You stepped out of his arms, slightly embarrassed to have ambushed him before he even crossed the threshold. “Course,” you said with a laugh, pulling him in behind you.

He dropped his bags by the door and shucked his jacket before pulling you close again. “You look gorgeous and something smells amazing.”

“Thank you, I made you dinner like a good little housefrau and you look absolutely scrummy,” you said before you kissed him again.

“Merlin, you make me happy,” he breathed into your hair.

You leaned back to look at him with your head tipped sideways, an inquisitive look upon your face. “Did you just call me Merlin?”

Sirius’ eyes widened a bit, then he laughed and said, “Just an expression me an’ my mates used to say.”

“Right. Bit weird, that.”

“Yeah, s’why I don’t say it much,” he replied with a laugh.

“You make me happy, too, Sirius.”

“I’m glad. You may well be the best thing to ever happen to me,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper, as if he was afraid to reveal so much of himself.

You studied his face for a moment, seeing nothing but sincerity in the depths of his silvery eyes. You took a breath and revealed your heart to him. “Sirius Black, I never thought it could happen, but you made me happy that Trevor was such a poxy blighter.”

Sirius smiled but was confused by your statement. “I beg your pardon?”

“If he hadn’t been a generally awful person, I might not have waited for you to steal my heart.”

Sirius inhaled sharply. “Have I stolen your heart, love?”

“You have,” you answered simply, placing your hand on his cheek gently. “I love you, Sirius Black.”

“You love me?” Sirius parroted, shocked.

“I do. It’s fine if you don’t –”

You were cut off by Sirius kissing you passionately, almost frantically. “Y/N Y/L/N, I love you more than you could ever know. More than I ever thought I could.”

“I love you, too!”

“I know, you just said so!”

“I did, didn’t I?” you said with a laugh.

“You did. No taking it back,” he ordered with mock ferocity.

“I never will. You have m’heart. You’re stuck with me.”

“As are you with me, darling. I promise, one day we’ll be together all the time and have a proper home.”

“I can’t wait. But let’s not let dinner burn. C’mon,” you said, pulling him along behind you.

Sirius followed you to your tiny kitchen and hugged you from behind while you finished dinner, chin on your shoulder and dropping the occasional kiss to your neck.

You had dinner and then cuddled on the sofa, catching up and kissing and repeating your declarations of love. It was perfection, the absolute best evening with the man you love.

“Love?” Sirius said hesitantly.

“Hmm?” you replied lazily, enveloped in a haze of contented happiness.

“I know that sharing our love isn’t a license to sex. I just want you to know that I’m waiting for you to take the lead, yeah?”

“Thank you, love.”

“Of course.”

You talked about everything, the past, the future, kids and pets and how many of each you wanted, where to live and when to get married.

“Sweetheart, I think I knew that you were the one for me the day we met. And I want to be with you forever. But we have to wait until this job is over,” he said, worried that you would be angry.

“I understand, Sirius. Well, I suppose I don’t precisely understand, but I accept that. You’ve never made me any promises to the contrary. I’m willing to wait.”

Sirius brought your hand to his mouth and kissed it. “Thank you for understanding. I bloody hate this. I know you’ve got to be curious and I hate that I can’t tell you everything.”

You shrugged. “I’m not gonna pretend I don’t want to know because I do, but you said from the beginning that you couldn’t tell me everything. I trust you and I believe that you will tell me when you can. Until then, I’m just happy to be with you.”

“Thank you darling,” he whispered, then kissed you like a thanks and a promise all rolled into one.

* * *

Sirius’ next trip to London included a side trip. You may not be able to set a wedding date, but he could at least let you know that he meant it when he said forever. He had some money ferreted away and he bought you a gorgeous emerald cut diamond ring with ruby baguettes set in platinum. Sirius knew you’d be happy with a ring from a bubble gum machine, but he needed you to have more than his word that he was devoted to you.

He couldn’t wait to ask you to be with him forever. He just needed to find the perfect moment.

* * *

You were walking home from the bus stop, eyes shifty as if anyone who looked at you would know that you had a package of condoms in your purse. You had traveled a few villages over so the customers and employees wouldn’t report to the world at large that you were going to have sex with your boyfriend.

You had decided that waiting for a ring was silly. A piece of jewelry didn’t make you love each other more or less; you knew Sirius loved you, and you certainly loved him. Expressing your love physically didn’t need to have a cover charge, and neither would a ring guarantee faithfulness or longevity.

You knew that you and Sirius would grow old together. Whether or not you exchanged rings to do so no longer seemed so important.


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius’ next visit had a stop to your mum’s house before he came to you. He sat down and over a cup of tea explained that he intended to marry you and wanted her blessing. When she got a bit teary-eyed and pulled him into a hug, Sirius sighed a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding.

“You’re welcome to the family, Sirius. I couldn’t have picked a better lad for my girl from a catalog.”

When Sirius got to your house, you were waiting at the door for him and threw yourself into his arms, kissing him passionately. “Missed you so much, love,” you moaned against his lips.

“I missed you too, darling,” he said, panting.

You grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along with you, letting him get a look at you for the first time. You were wearing a floral satin dressing gown, and from what Sirius could see nothing else. He felt his cock hardening as your breasts and bum bounced under the smooth fabric hugging your curves.

“Love?” he asked. “Not complaining but what’s happening?”

“I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“I am definitely on board, but I need…from my bag…”

“I rode the bus for three hours to go to a village where I didn’t know the people working at a chemist to buy,” and you whispered the following,  _“condoms_ ,” then returned to your regular tone of voice, “so you had better get your adorable bum in here and make love to me, Sirius Black!” You ran your hand down his chest and rubbed his cock through his jeans. “You said I had to make the first move. Consider yourself moved.”

Sirius laughed happily and followed you into the bedroom, where you kissed him again and started pulling his clothes from him. He was quick to tug at the tie to your dressing gown, inhaling sharply when your beauty was revealed to him.

“Merlin,” he whispered, “you are so beautiful, my love.”

You laughed. “Sweetheart, it is most disconcerting not only to be called by the wrong name, but by the name of a male mythological wizard.”

“Shit, sorry Y/N. I promise, you’re the only one I’m thinking of,” he said quickly.

You unbuckled his belt, accidentally-not-accidentally brushing the bulge in his jeans while you did so. “I forgive you,” you said as you unzipped him.

Sirius pushed the robe from your shoulders, picked you up and carried you to the bed, setting you down so you could scoot back and he could admire your curves, his heart beating rapidly. He had dreamed of this moment so many times and now that it was upon him he felt like an inexperienced boy gawking at his first naked woman.

He shed the rest of his clothes and lie down next to you, immediately kissing you and caressing your soft skin.

Your hands were exploring Sirius’ body just as much. You were not unfamiliar with the planes and muscles of his chest and back, and you certainly knew his arms and hands, and even his legs and feet, but his boxer shorts had hidden the good stuff and you wanted to feel those. You slid your hand down his back to his bum, lightly scraping your nails over the muscles and enjoying the groans that the sensations produced from Sirius.

His hands and lips and teeth moved down your body, stopping to drive you mad by licking and sucking and nibbling your breasts, nipples hard peaks from the attention.

“So beautiful,” he whispered reverently. “So delicious.”

“Sirius, love, so good,” you moaned as he gently pinched your nipples then gently tugged at one with his teeth. You threaded your fingers through his hair to pull him back up to you and kissed him. It was hot and wet and messy, lips and tongue and teeth, hands roaming, nails scraping. When you pulled apart you were both breathless and nearly mindless with desire.

You pushed him onto his back so you could explore his body with your mouth as he had. The freedom that your decision had given you allowed you to have this experience with the man you loved and you weren’t going to miss a spot on his gorgeous body.

Your hand traveled down his stomach to his navel while you were swirling your tongue around his nipples and chest. He had been kissing whatever skin of yours he could reach and the rumble of his groans against your body felt magnificent.

When your hand went around his cock and gently squeezed a bit he actually made a sound that was part hissed and part shout, then he said, “Fuck, Y/N, do that again and I’ll embarrass myself and cum all over your hand.”

You looked into his eyes and started licking down his stomach, dipping your tongue into his navel and rubbing your face in his treasure trail, your mouth coming closer to the treasure itself. “Wanna taste you,” you said, stroking his cock before darting your tongue out to the tip. “Mmmmm scrummy.”

Sirius’ entire body jerked with that light contact. “Fuck,” he hissed. “Love…if you keep…”

“What, m’love? If I keep,” you licked his cock from base to tip, “licking your cock, you will be very happy?”

“Such language,” he said, even more turned on than before. He grabbed you and flipped you on to your back and started kissing down your stomach. “What I was going to say was, if you keep that up I will give you a taste of your own medicine.” With that, he kissed down your stomach to your just above your slit, then he stopped and looked up at you, the stubble on his chin delightfully scraping your delicate skin. “Shall I give this pretty pussy the same treatment you gave my cock?” he asked, dropping a kiss slightly closer to where you were now certain you needed his mouth.

“Mmm no, you should do it more,” you said, then groaned as he plunged his tongue inside you and licked to your clit. “Sirius, love.”

“Yes, my dear?” he asked, stopping and propping his chin on your pussy with a cheeky grin. “Something I can do for you?”

You looked into the teasing face of the man you loved and just felt your heart burst with joy. “I love you so much, Sirius Black,” you whispered.

Sirius felt the emotion behind your words and crawled up to hold you close. He wanted to remember this moment forever. “Love you too, Y/N. I will always love you.”

You held each other and looked into each other’s eyes, both of you making a memory of the moment. Then you began to smile at each other and kissed, passions building back up quickly. Sirius slipped his hand down your stomach and you trailed your fingers down his, both of you reaching your destinations at the same time, groaning as the other stroked sensitive spots.

Sirius pulled out of your hand and pushed you to your back again, moving back down your body to pick up where he left off.

You felt his mouth and hands work magic on you, his tongue swirling around your clit and then sucking it, even nipping at it with his teeth while his fingers slid inside and combined sensations to drive you wild and scream Sirius’ name as you reached your peak.

You watched him lick his fingers off with a positively obscene look of enjoyment, then saw him prowl up your body like a predator to kiss you again, his body held a bit above yours as you tried to pull him close. You finally wrapped your legs around his hips and pulled him to you, feeling his weight press you into the bed as you felt his heart beat madly against your chest.

“Love you, Sirius,” you moaned into his mouth.

“Love you too, Y/N,” you said against your lips between kisses.

“I didn’t travel three hours to cuddle, though,” you said in a very naughty voice.

Sirius gave his wonderful, joyous bark of laughter and reached over to the table to grab a condom. Once it was on he settled between your legs and positioned himself, then slowly slid into your tight, wet heat. “Fuuuck that’s perfect,” he groaned.

“Yesss,” you agreed, and then there was no more coherent conversation.

Sirius varied his tempo and moved you around a few times, finally finding the spots that made your breath catch and pulled the loudest moans. Then he got down to making you come again.

You felt yourself reaching the precipice again and begged him for more. “Harder, love, there,” you cried before your breath left you in a gasp and you came hard, squeezing his cock and pushing him along after you, your name tumbling from his lips on a gasp as he pounded his cock into you.

You had your arms and legs wrapped around Sirius, his head on your shoulder, both of you still panting and shivering from the intensity if your orgasms. “Fuckin’ ‘ell, love, I may not be able to walk after that,” you said with a giggle.

Sirius’ head popped up. “Did I hurt you,darling?” he asked, terrified.

You cradled his face in your hands. “No, sweetheart! It was wonderful. Every bit of it was perfect. I never knew sex could feel that amazing.”

Sirius turned his head slightly to kiss your palm, then leaned forward to kiss your lips. “I think that it was so much better for me because I’ve never made love before.”

“I only thought I had. You have every part of me as no one ever has before.”

Sirius kissed you again, hard and quick, as if he was overcome with emotion. “I need to…ah be right back,” he said, realizing that saying 'use the toilet’ seeming forward when he still had his cock inside you was a bit silly.

He kissed you again and gently pulled out, then you admired his bum as he walked away. “That is a perfect arse!” you called after him. He stopped and wiggled it a bit, laughed and went to the loo.

You leaned back on the pillows and stretched, feeling a bit sore between your legs but absolutely marvelous. You heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on and off, then heard Sirius unzip one of his bags. When he returned he had one hand behind his back.

“I’ve got something for you,” he said with a smile.

“Already? I’m ready if you are,” you said with a cheeky wink.

He dove onto the bed next to you and kissed you. “Perfect woman. But no, it’s not me. Well, I suppose it is. That is, not physically me. But…” he rambled, nervous of a sudden.

“Sirius?” you asked, never having seen him so anxious.

“Right. Y/N, I never thought I would find someone that I could see forever with. I didn’t think I was worthy, and part of me still doesn’t, I suppose. But, you loving me is the absolute best thing to ever happen to me, and the thought of not spending every moment I can with you for the rest of my life seems impossible. So,” and here he pulled his hand from under a pillow to show you the ring inside the jewelry box, “will you please be my wife?”

Your hand flew to your mouth in shock as your eyes flew open wide as possible. “Yes!” you shrieked as you began to nod frantically. “Yes, of course I want to marry you!”

You practically dove on top of Sirius, hugging and kissing him while crying tears of joy. When you settled down enough to hold still, he took your left hand and slid the ring on your third finger, then kissed your hand.

“Sirius, it’s beautiful,” you exclaimed, holding it so it sparkled in the light.

“It’s just a shiny rock. You make it beautiful.”

_You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold_

_Your story to remain untold_

_Your love not to grow cold_

* * *

For the rest of the time Sirius stayed that visit you stayed in bed except to eat, shower and get back in bed. You didn’t precisely regret taking the time to get to know Sirius well before you took the step of making love, but thinking about all the sex you could have been having…maybe you regretted it a bit.

When you said goodbye this time, it was like tearing a piece of yourself away. There were tears in Sirius’ eyes and on your cheeks as you kissed him and tried to hold him to you.

“It gets harder every time you leave, Sirius. I hate it,” you said on a hiccup.

“I hate it, too, love. I want this to be over.” He pulled back and looked you in the eye. “I swear to you that if it wasn’t necessary I would stay with you. I promise you that I don’t want to be away from you.”

“Oh, Sirius, I’m sorry. I know you don’t. I just…I worry about you.”

Sirius pulled you close and hugged you tight. “You don’t know how much that means to me. I think you’re the first person that’s loved me entirely for myself.”

“Come back to me soon, m’love. I miss you already,” you said around a watery smile.

* * *

Sirius’ next few visits we’re among the best times of your life. You loved spending time with him, alone and with family and friends. He was comfortable in groups but you both preferred your alone time. You spent every moment together talking and catching up.

Sirius tried to make up for keeping you separate from the rest of his life by telling you as much about it as he could. He told you about James and Lily’s rocky courtship at school, how he and his friends were a bit wild, about their wedding, James’ parents taking him in when he ran away…everything he could think of.

You told him about your school years, your hopes and dreams and fears and habits.

You were both insatiable, as well. You stayed up talking and making love until one of you passed out and the other followed. It was a time of romance and hope, and you couldn’t wait for your future together to officially begin.

* * *

You were expecting Sirius and had been going to the window looking for him at every sound. If the wind blew, you ran to the window. It was November 3rd and you got to keep Sirius until the 7th to celebrate his birthday.

You had made him a cake and had pressies, plus you had bought some positively scandalous lingerie that you planned to seduce him in.

He hadn’t called for a few days, and while that was unusual it wasn’t unprecedented. But he had promised he would be with you for his birthday, and he had never broken a promise to you. He would be here.

But he never came.

_All the promises we break_

_From the cradle to the grave_

_When all I want is you_  

* * *

Sirius was still in shock. He had been since he had found his family slaughtered and had his godson ripped from him. He had acted impulsively going after Peter as he had. He should have thought of you. He should have gone through the proper channels.

He shouldn’t have trusted Peter.

How did everything change so quickly? He had been truly happy, blissfully happy. He had found the most amazing woman in the world, you actually loved him…and now…now you would think he had abandoned you. James had the letter he had written you, but James was dead.

He was alone and soon he would be crazy. And he knew that soon you would be lost again because you had foolishly trusted him. He would die here and you would never know. 

Sirius screamed his anguish, tears rolling down his cheeks as he realized all that had been taken from him and all he had taken from those that he loved with his stupidity and overconfidence. 

The Dementors that guarded him delighted in his torment.

_What happened here, what is this world?_

_It’s too far from the heart of a girl_


	8. Chapter 8

1993

Your Mum was screaming at you from the lounge as you came home from work. You had lived there since…well, suffice to say that you had not handled Sirius’ disappearance well. When you had stopped getting out of bed to go to work, your boss hadn’t had a choice but to fire you. And then your landlord hadn’t had a choice but to evict you.

So you had moved back in with your Mother, spirit completely crushed by the fact that you had no idea what had happened to the man you had loved so deeply. Part of you worried that he was dead and part of you wished it so. Mostly, though, you were just empty. Long years had passed since you had stopped expecting him to show up and explain what had happened. When you gave up on that hope you gave up on life. Your death was just a formality, now; your heart and soul had died long ago.

“Y/N! Move your bleedin’ arse! You need t’see this!” she yelled impatiently.

You still took your time shuffling to the lounge. You hadn’t shown interest in anything for years, you doubted this would be the magic moment where your interest in life would be rekindled.

“…The public is warned that Black is armed and dangerous. A special hotline has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately.”

You collapsed onto the couch, clutching the diamond engagement ring you still wore on a chain around your neck inside your clothes. There on the television screen was a picture of the love of your life; older, malnourished and filthy, but your Sirius. “Mummy,” you whispered, calling her by the pet name you called her as a child in your state of shock, “is this real?”

“Yes, m’love, it’s been on the news all day,” she answered quietly. “But they haven’t said anything else, but wherever they held him they obviously mistreated him.”

You could tell that this bothered her nearly as much as you. Sirius had been precious to her as well. You started sobbing, dropping your head into her lap as you did so frequently during the months after he had disappeared. She stroked your hair and tried to comfort you, but her breathing hitched occasionally to let you know that she was also hurting from this news.

Suddenly, your head popped up. “Has anyone called or come by, Mum?”

“I thought the same thing. No, surprisingly they haven’t. I don’t know if that means they didn’t remember him or that they called and told the hotline that you were engaged. All we can do is wait, m’love.”

* * *

And wait you did, though you were not terribly optimistic. You were a bundle of nerves; one moment you hoped he would show up on your doorstep and the next you feared him coming to call. Deep down, though, you couldn’t believe what they said about him. Sirius had always been gentle with you, kind to others and dedicated to his friends. His job had been a duty to fulfill, and you simply could not believe that he was a villain.

That skeletal man with haunted eyes was physically your Sirius, but who knew what was left inside? You didn’t know who he had become in the dozen years he had been gone, but you knew that the Sirius you had known and loved deeply was not capable of harming another human unless they were a threat to someone that he loved.

Then all hell would break loose.

* * *

Sirius had seen Harry get on the Knights Bus and he would hopefully be safe. It was like a punch in the gut to see the tyke all grown up. He used to change his nappies and all, now he’s a third year in school. He missed so much for being his godfather. Of course, he supposed his failure of everyone who had been daft enough to depend on him should certainly include Harry. You had probably written him off for no good or dead years ago.

Harry needed his help and didn’t even know it. You would have to wait. His presence around Harry might keep him alive; his presence around you could get you killed.

But he could at least see you if he went in his animagus form. You may not recognize him but he could at least drink in the last years that he had missed by being near you.

* * *

You were walking in the woods that had been your refuge for as long as you could remember. The news of Sirius’ escape had been on the news for a few days and then disappeared. Nobody treated you any differently than they had for the last dozen years, which is to say as if you were made of a particularly fragile porcelain and could break into a million pieces at any moment. You didn’t receive any extra pitying looks so perhaps your neighbors either didn’t recall his name or didn’t connect the crazed man with long hair and a mangy beard in the news story to the handsome young man to whom you had been engaged so many years ago.

After all, he hadn’t crushed their reality when he disappeared.

It was a warm Saturday in August. The leaves were fluttering softly in the gentle breeze blowing on this beautiful day. This was really the only place left to you that wasn’t grey; surrounded by rich earth, dappled shade and blooming wildflowers, even you could see some beauty left in the world.

You heard a rustling through some brush and saw a glimpse of something large and black. It was the size of a pony but you knew of no wild creatures of that size in this area. You looked closer and could see the outline of a black animal. You began to back slowly away from the creature.

Sirius knew that you had spotted him and he could smell your fear. Perfect, he tried to get a closer look at the woman he loved and wound up causing her still more emotional turbulance. He decided to play the friendly stray card and scampered over to you and lie down on the ground, looking up at you with his tongue out and tail thumping briskly.

You were still cautious because this was a huge dog, but blimey there was something about him that made you want to take him home and feed him. You held out your hand and said, “Hello huge dog. Are you going to kill me and eat me then?”

He whimpered a bit and scooched across the ground to you and rolled over on his back. He didn’t know how to look friendlier, honestly.

You cautiously knelt and began to rub his chest, causing him to tip his head back and make a doggy sighing sound. “You’re just a big marshmallow, aren’t you?” you crooned softly.

Sirius took the opportunity to look you over. Your hair was pulled back in a severe bun and you wore no makeup. You had a look of defeat about you, no particular care given with your appearance at all. You were wearing old jeans and boots with a baggy t-shirt that had seen better days. Wait…Merlin, was that one of his t-shirts? Did that mean you still…

You dropped from your crouch to your knees, leaning forward to give him a proper scratch when something shiny popped out of the loose neck of your shirt.

Your engagement ring.

Sirius gave you a big doggy kiss, causing you to wipe your face, laugh and say, “Yuck!” all in the same breath.

“I dunno who you belong to but they need to teach you some manners!” you said with a smile, but then the smile ran away from your face. “Your eyes…I’ve never seen eyes like this in a dog. Blimey, now I’m seeing your eyes on dogs, Sirius.”

Sirius’ ears perked at that. Merlin. You were talking to him, even though you clearly had no idea that he was there.

“And there I go talking to my missing fiance again,” you said, wiping your eyes in what seemed a practiced move.

He wondered how often you cried for him. He didn’t try to lie to himself and say that his imprisonment hadn’t hurt you. Yet, even knowing what he knew now, he wouldn’t change a thing. He would still approach you in the pub and do everything in his power to make you fall in love with him again. How selfish was he?

He kissed your hand, trying to comfort you. You smiled at him and said, “Wanna come home with me? I’ll see if I can find your people.”

Sirius longed to go home with you, tell you who he was and explain everything, but he was more of a danger to you than ever. For once in his life he was going to think things through before he acted. He rolled to his feet and slipped one more kiss across your face, drawing another laugh and ‘ick’ from you, then trotted off into the brush.

Harry. He would only cause you more pain by revealing his presence. He could save Harry’s life with his presence. He had to do the right thing here. He would only return to you when it wouldn’t put you in danger.

You watched the giant dog trot off, making kissing sounds and patting your leg to get him to come back. You sighed and turned to go home.

Sirius wandered over behind some bushes and watched you walk dejectedly toward the head of the path. He had seen you, it was time to head to Hogwarts.

* * *

Of course, you had no idea that there was anything remarkable about the dog in the woods other than his size and his unusual eyes. There really had been nothing out of the ordinary about him, yet you had felt better in those few minutes stroking his fur than you had in years.

Perhaps it was time to start collecting those cats you used to worry about winding up with.

* * *

June, 1998

Sirius stopped his motorcycle about a mile outside your village. His heart was racing and he thought he might actually pass out. He paced back and forth as he always did when he was particularly overwrought. He was terrified to face you. He had been in full-on battles against magical monsters, had lost still more of his friends and faced the entire Wizengamot to finally have his freedom back, and he was frightened of one woman.

He was going to go to your home and tell you everything – magic, Voldemort, prison, the war – everything. Then he was going to beg you to forgive him and ask if you would give him another chance.

While he was at it perhaps he should ask for the stars.

He had escaped from Azkaban four and a half years ago, and he knew that it had been covered in the Muggle news. He knew that it was an extraordinary longshot that you could forgive him for waiting so long to return to you, and an even narrower margin of chance that you still loved him. Just because he had been in limbo doesn’t mean you were.

“Right,” Sirius said aloud to himself. “Quit being a bloody craven and move.”

He climbed back onto his bike and started it up, stiffening his spine and riding into town, going to your Mum’s house. He had been back a few times in his Animagus form to see you and knew that you were living with her.

Taking a deep breath and shaking out his hands to try and get them to stop trembling, Sirius knocked on the door and prepared to face the music.

_Many doors, knock on one  
Standing still, time is raging_

* * *

“Y/N! There’s someone at the door, be a love and see who it is,” your Mum called out the window to where you were reading in the garden.

You sighed and put your book down and turned the radio off, certain that it was one of your Mum’s mates as you no longer had any of your own. Rather than go through the house, you walked around to the front and saw a tall man with dark curly hair. Wait…”Sirius?” you said tremulously.

Sirius spun on his foot to face you. “Y/N,” he whispered.

“You’re here,” you said dumbly, frozen in place.

“Love, I can explain,” he began, desperate to hold you but afraid to move toward you. He had lost the right to hold you freely when he disappeared, whether he had intended to do so or not.

Your hands moved to hug yourself, sobs wracking your body. Unable to bear the shock of seeing him after so many years, you dropped to your knees right where you stood.

Sirius ran over to you and fell next to you, pulling you into his lap and hugging you tighty as you began to hyperventilate. “Love I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry,” he repeated over and over as he rocked you against his chest.

You finally began to settle down, breathing at a normal pace when you realized you were sprawled on your mother’s front lawn. You leaned back and looked into his eyes, then placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him gently. “You’re late, Mr. Black,” you scolded.

Sirius’ eyes opened wide in shocked surprise. “That’s it?”

You laughed. “Of course that’s not it, you’ve been gone for nearly seventeen years. I am going to need an explanation. But right this minute I’m just reeling from the fact that you’re alive and well and here.”

“I love you, Y/N. I promise I will tell you everything,” he vowed.

You clambered off his lap and got to your feet, Sirius standing after you. “Let’s go inside and tell Mum you’re back and you can tell me everything.”

“Merlin, I love you,” he said reverently.

“Bloody hell, not back for five minutes and you’re getting my name wrong,” you joked.

Sirius threw his head back and laughed his glorious bark of joy.

“How I missed that sound,” you said with a smile.

Sirius cradled your face in his hands and kissed you, deeply yet gently, pulling you close and pouring all of the love, devotion and anguish he had felt while you were apart and the hope that he felt now that you were back together into the embrace. When he pulled back to catch his breath, he trailed his fingers down to the chain around your neck, pulling it from the collar of your top to see again that you still wore his ring. “Perhaps after I explain everything you’ll allow me to place this back on your finger?” he asked, not quite meeting your eyes.

“I’ll be very interested to hear how you knew that was there,” you said suspiciously.

Sirius chuckled. “You have no idea.”

You looked down and Sirius could see that there was something you wanted to say. “What is it, love?” he asked gently.

“Are you going to leave again?”

He pulled you close again, trying to reassure you. “No, dear one, I am never leaving your side again,” he whispered. “I love you so much, Y/N. I can’t believe you waited for me.”

“I never stopped loving you, Sirius.” You held onto him for a moment longer, then nodded. “Let’s go inside. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

_Deep in the night I feel the presence_  
Of something that was long ago told to me  
There is a hand guiding the river  
The river to wide open sea  
And deep in my heart, in any game  
On any mountain, oh, I’m not afraid  
Standing on stone, you stand beside me  
And all of our plans that were made  
  



	9. Chapter 9

10 October 1998

“Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in welcoming the bride and groom, Mrs. Y/N and Mr. Sirius Black!”

Sirius and you proudly walked arm in arm into the reception hall. It wasn’t a huge wedding, just the closest family and friends. Everyone was so happy that the two of you had finally found happiness together.

You had actually wanted to elope immediately when he had told you everything. At first it had all seemed like a far-fetched tale told to cover up a sinister truth, but after Sirius had changed into his Animagus form and demonstrated other spells and charms, you knew that his story was true.

You had taken the chain from around your neck and handed him the engagement ring, which he had tearfully placed back on your third finger and kissed your hand, just as he had that day so many years ago when you had first agreed to be his wife.

And just as your first dance had been all those many years ago on the night you met, your first dance as a married couple was to “Wonderful Tonight.”

* * *

Years had passed, your two sons, Fleamont (”Mum, please, Monty!”) and Y/F/N, had graduated from Hogwarts and had children of their own. You were happily living in the country with the love of your life. You gave to each other all that had been missing from your lives for so long and you could not be happier.

Sirius still grieved for his missing friends but felt that he had been able to make amends for his error in trusting Peter by protecting Harry as much as possible and making him a part of your family.

And family was something you had in abundance now! Through Harry and Sirius, you were bound to the Weasleys and their many children and grandchildren.

Sirius never returned to the boy you had fallen in love with, of course, just as you were changed from the girl he first loved. But, the depth of your love had been such that you overcame the lost years and loved each other all the more. Yours was a love that had been tested by the hottest fires of hell and came through, singed but stronger. You may have lost time together, but you were making the most of every moment you had.

* * *

You were alone in your home, no visiting relatives or friends, and you were making out on the sofa like teenagers. Sirius gazed at you with complete adoration, the decades that had passed never changing the way he looked at you, as if you were as beautiful as that first night when he saw you alone at the table, minding your friends’ handbags.

He pulled away and stood up, then flicked his wand to the stereo and “Wonderful Tonight” began to play.

He held out his hand and said, “May I have this dance, Wonderful Y/N?”

You joined him and began swaying to your song, loving when he sang quietly in your ear.

“I love you, Sirius. Thank you for hounding me until I fell for you. Pun intended.”

Sirius laughed, enjoying the joke even though you had said it to him a million times. “I love you, too, darling. You’ve given me so much more, but still all I want is you.”

“Well, I suppose that can be arranged,” you said with a smile, kissing him deeply and leading him to your bedroom.

Sirius followed happily. His life, both before and after he met you, had been unhappy, to say the least. Yet even knowing all of the tragedy that had been the hallmark of his existence, he would not change a thing, because the road that he had walked had brought him to you.


End file.
